10/07 Vigil II Cutter

[3mpire 0]

I saw the vigil recall and checked my repack card for my s/n and it says the DOM is wk 46-07, which if my retarded math skills are correct, puts me in the middle of november. i have no idea if it is the original cutter, according to my pack card it was added to my rig in 2010 and I've only owned it for about a year.

their bulletin says that if it isn't on the list but was made in or before 2007 to have it inspected at next repack. i *just* got my repack on september 17th.

my s/n is five away from some of the s/n on the list, so it kind of seems like mine is as close to being on the list without being on the list as you can get.

i'm going to ask a few of the riggers about this when I'm at the dz this weekend but i'm curious what the masses would do if they were in my situation.

should i just let it be and have it checked in six months, or should I just spring for the repack and have them check it over?

[indyz 1]

Even if you don't have a blade in your cutter, you aren't any worse off than jumping with no AAD at all. You can also do the rough math: Odds of having a defective cutter despite not being on the list + odds of needing your AAD this repack cycle = very small but real.

Or for the cost of a repack you can be sure.

[sagan 0]

There's no need to do a full repack to inspect the cutter. Opening the reserve (pin) and pulling the reserve out of the freebag are two different things. Talk to your rigger that did the repack and ask if he can do the inspection for you. It doesn't mean when he closes it that you get an extra 180 days, your repack is still the repack. To my knowledge the practice of opening the reserve but not repacking isn't uncommon for things like replacing the battery or reseating a poptop which isn't neat.

So back to my original point -- talk to your rigger.

-Patrick

[councilman24 36]

Many (most) riggers will open their own pack jobs and reclose them without a full repack, new date, or full fee. Ask yours.

Me, I'd check it but I'm my own rigger so it's real cheap. Especially if it isn't in the era of 100% inspection by xray.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[RIGGER 0]

I would not wait for the next repack I would check it before NEXT JUMP - I would NOT trust the MAYBE ????

Argus Mfg. said the same regarding the Argus cutters & look what happaned.

All might be good but you might need your AAD on the next jump - you jump it for a reason - do you ?

Be Safe !!!

[wolfriverjoe 1,353]

Someone above touched on it, but are you comfortable with having a potentially nonfunctional AAD?

It won't make stuff worse, but it may or may not work if you need it.

To put it another way, if your AAD malfunctioned and your rigger had to pull it out and ship it off for service, would you have him close it back up and jump without or would you not jump that rig without and AAD? (find a different rig, find a different AAD, not jump at all until it's replaced)

I won't tell you what to do, that's your choice.
But keep in mind, that this isn't a situation where the bad cutter will lock your reserve shut, it just won't work if you need it to.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[hackish 8]

Take it over to the local airport and get them to x-ray it :P

I'm on board with the others saying take it to the last rigger. I've already inspected mine - one was made around but within the affected dates.

Out of interest I tried a varity of magnet tests with the cutter behind a few flaps. Unfortunately it doesn't work reliably enough so you can't get around having it opened.

-Michael

[3mpire 0]

Thanks for the feedback everyone that was helpful. I'm going to call my rigger today and see if I can't bring it in ASAP just to make sure.

Just because I could jump without an AAD doesn't mean I should, because why take anything off the table that can make the numbers game a little more in your favor.

If it is missing it's cutter than obviously my last 175 or so jumps prove that I can jump without one

but that doesn't mean I want to make it 176!

[3mpire 0]

Interestingly I just got off the phone with my rigger, and I don't have to worry because my cutter was already replaced due to a prior recall. it's not clear to me exactly *which* recall it was. It might have been PSB-5 which recalled all cutters made in december of 2007. I'm not sure if the DOM of the AAD is in november of 07 if that means that it's not possible for the cutter to have a DOM that is a few weeks older.

Which brings up an interesting question. I know that the only thing you're required to put in the reserve repack card is basically the serial number of the reserve, right? mine happened to have my AAD's serial number, but not the DOM or s/n or part number of the cutter.

General question to riggers: why not just always put that relevant information into the card so that when these things come up you don't have to pop pins just to see if you're affected?

[crazydiver 0]

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Interestingly I just got off the phone with my rigger, and I don't have to worry because my cutter was already replaced due to a prior recall. it's not clear to me exactly *which* recall it was. It might have been PSB-5 which recalled all cutters made in december of 2007. I'm not sure if the DOM of the AAD is in november of 07 if that means that it's not possible for the cutter to have a DOM that is a few weeks older.

Which brings up an interesting question. I know that the only thing you're required to put in the reserve repack card is basically the serial number of the reserve, right? mine happened to have my AAD's serial number, but not the DOM or s/n or part number of the cutter.

General question to riggers: why not just always put that relevant information into the card so that when these things come up you don't have to pop pins just to see if you're affected?

The AAD DOM, serial number, and model are all required to be on the packing data card. If it is not, your last rigger didn't do their full job but still got paid for it. It should also state when the cutter was replaced (unless the cutter was replaced when it was in another rig).

Cheers,
Travis

[BlindBrick 0]

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The AAD DOM, serial number, and model are all required to be on the packing data card.

Nope. The only reg regarding AAD's is that they must be maintained according to the manufactuer's instructions. Those may or may not require that info on the card. However, I agree that it's a very good practice to follow.

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[koppel 3]

With the advent of newer AAD's and the number of cutter recall's and changes I started logging cutter serial numbers and DOM's a couple of years ago on both the packing card and my log book

makes for happy customers at times like these

I like my canopy...


...it lets me down.

[yardart 0]

Wow! wish I would thought of that. The Vigils I have are all used and I did write the s/n and DOM on the packing data card but didn't think to write down the DOM of the cutter. If it's possible that a cutter manufactured in October of 2007 can be installed in the field by any rigger then I would need to open them all to check the DOM of the cutter. Am I seeing it right or is there something I'm missing? I'm anticipating some very unhappy customers. Thanks Vigil.....

[skydivepete 0]

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Take it over to the local airport and get them to x-ray it :P

Probably your dentist can do it too.

Pete